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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29167332">Catalyst</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/elivigar/pseuds/elivigar'>elivigar</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fall Into Me [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>5 Seconds of Summer (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Dom Calum Hood, Dom/sub, Explicit Sexual Content, Friends With Benefits, I also think there's slightly more plot in this one than in the first installment, M/M, Roommates, Slightly more - Freeform, Sub Ashton Irwin, There's side Muke but not enough that I feel right about tagging it as a relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:26:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,996</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29167332</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/elivigar/pseuds/elivigar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“If he comes home one day and tells us he’s met someone that he wants to date, what’ll you do?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“Wish him good luck?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Michael bursts out laughing. “Yeah, right. It wouldn’t bother you at all? There’s no part of you that wants him all to yourself? Or that would be jealous if you had to listen to him fucking someone else through the wall?”</i>
</p>
<p>In which it’s been a couple of months since Calum and Ashton started doing what they do and maybe it’s time to decide what, exactly, it is they’re doing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Calum Hood/Ashton Irwin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fall Into Me [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096547</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Catalyst</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I have no idea if more than one person is even interested in a follow-up to <i>Pierce My Soul, Take My Heart</i>, but I got a comment on PMSTMH yesterday that reminded me that I've had this second installment in my docs for... two months, 85% completed, so I finished it up real quick now and it's really not exactly my finest work but... hope someone enjoys anyway? Come talk to me on <a href="https://ashtcnirwin.tumblr.com/ask">Tumblr</a> if you wanna♥</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Please,” Ashton gasps, his hands grabbing onto the sheets so hard his knuckles are turning white. His back is arching sharply off the bed, his head thrown back to expose the sweaty column of his neck.</p>
<p>“You can plead all you want, you don’t get to come until I feel like you’ve earned it,” Calum says, punctuating the sentence by slamming his hips forward.</p>
<p>Ashton’s eyelids flutter shut and he’s shaking from top to bottom with the effort of keeping it together. Calum knows neither of them are going to last much longer, he can feel his own self-control slip a little more for each time he thrusts back into Ashton’s pliant body, and Ashton has that desperate expression on his face that means he’s moments away from starting to shed tears. No matter how many times they’ve been in this exact position over the last three months, the novelty of watching Ashton fall apart for him never seems to wear off. He’s a sight for sore eyes — his legs spread wide and bent at the knee to accommodate Calum, his dick flushed red and leaking all over his own stomach, his chest heaving with each trembling breath.</p>
<p>Releasing the deathgrip he has on Ashton’s hip, Calum brushes Ashton’s nipple with his fingertips. The touch is ghostly, barely even there at all, but Ashton reacts instantly, crying out so loudly everyone within a hundred meter radius is sure to hear him. Pinching the silver ring between two fingers, Calum gives it a twist, and a sob tears from Ashton’s throat while his eyes start leaking.</p>
<p>“Please,” Ashton says again, his voice raspy. “Cal, I can’t— I have to—” His words turn into a sound akin to a scream when Calum pulls at the ring while simultaneously picking up the pace at which he’s fucking into Ashton.</p>
<p>“Think you’ve earned the right to come?” Calum asks, a little breathless. “Do you even remember why we’re here in the first place?”</p>
<p>“Because—” Ashton gasps as another set of tears roll down his flushed cheeks. “Because I didn’t— I was mean to Michael and— fuck!” He lolls his head to the side, mouthing at the pillow. “I refused to— to help clean up even— e-even though he was the one who— who cooked.”</p>
<p>Calum hums, pinching Ashton’s nipple as hard as he dares to for a moment before letting go completely. “So, why should I let you come?” he asks. “You were rude and ungrateful, and all you’ve done for the last fifteen minutes is annoy me.” Without as much as a warning, he pulls out completely and rolls the condom off himself before he starts stroking his dick with quick, hard pulls.</p>
<p>Ashton’s eyes are screwed shut, and he looks like an absolute mess, flushed and sweaty, face shining with tears. He’s a mess, and a beautiful mess at that. His whole body is shaking and his hips are twitching, the tip of his cock starting to acquire a purple hue. What does it for Calum in the end, what sends him over the edge, is when Ashton opens his eyes and looks at him, all desperate and glassy-eyed, and whispers out a broken, “Cal…”</p>
<p>Calum comes with a loud groan, so hard and uncontrolled that his vision whites out and he has to use his free hand to steady himself against Ashton’s thigh as he works himself through it. He stays still for a few moments after before he focuses his attention on Ashton again. Ashton is full-on crying, his breath coming and going accompanied by hiccups and sobs, and Calum has seen him like that many enough times by now that he knows playtime is over, that Ashton is moments away from safewording out. Pressing a kiss to the inside of his thigh, Calum wraps his fingers around Ashton’s erection, and it doesn’t take more than four strokes before Ashton is coming with a string of loud, “Ah!”s that makes Calum’s dick twitch with interest.</p>
<p>Reaching for the box of Kleenex on his nightstand, Calum makes quick work of wiping off the mess on Ashton’s stomach and his own hand. He puts the box back, then lies down next to Ashton and pulls him in to rest on his chest. It’s another thing he’s long since learned — while Ashton appreciates post-coital cuddles in any shape or form, his favourite type is using Calum’s chest as a pillow.</p>
<p>“You good?” Calum murmurs, nose brushing against Ashton’s hair.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Ashton whispers. “Thanks for that.”</p>
<p>Calum chuckles. “For what?”</p>
<p>“For the sex. And for knowing when I can’t take any more without me having to say anything.” Ashton’s tracing circular patterns on Calum’s chest with three fingers, and his respiration is slowly returning to normal. “What about you? You okay?”</p>
<p>“Never better, thanks for asking. Are you sleeping here tonight?”</p>
<p>“If it’s okay with you?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, sure.”</p>
<p>“Thanks.” There’s a stretch of silence, then: “I don’t like going to bed alone after we fuck. It’s… I don’t know. I like having you around, it feels good.”</p>
<p>Calum blinks, taking a moment to process the words that are doing a fine job of making his chest flutter, before he replies. “Yeah. I like having you around, too.”</p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-</p>
</div><p> </p>
<p>It’s too fucking warm. January has a tendency to bring with it that particular issue, but Calum doesn’t see himself ever getting used to it. Dumping his backpack in the entrance hall, he kicks his shoes off and starts tearing his clothes off as he heads towards the bathroom. A cold shower and a change of clothes later, he finds himself in the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge in search of the can of Sprite he <i>knows</i> he left there yesterday.</p>
<p>“What are you looking for?”</p>
<p>Calum looks up to see Michael sit down by the dining table. “The Sprite I bought yesterday.”</p>
<p>“Oh. Sorry.”</p>
<p>Pinching the bridge of his nose, Calum sighs. “You drank it.”</p>
<p>Michael shrugs. “I didn’t know it was yours.”</p>
<p>“You had to have known it wasn’t <i>yours</i>, though,” Calum says as he gets himself a glass of water. “You know the rules, Michael — if you didn’t buy it, don’t consume it.”</p>
<p>“Since when is that a rule?” Michael asks.</p>
<p>“Since just now, because I wanted that Sprite and now I’m pissed at you for taking it.”</p>
<p>“Oh, I’m sorry, daddy, wanna spank me to teach me some manners?”</p>
<p>Calum nearly chokes on the mouthful of water he just swallowed. Putting his glass down on the countertop, he raises an eyebrow at Michael. “Don’t ever say something like that again. Like, <i>ever</i>.”</p>
<p>Michael grins. “What, you don’t think we hear how you and Ash go at it behind closed doors? It’s not like you have the decency to wait for the apartment to be empty before you start going at it.”</p>
<p>“Not once has he called me ‘daddy’ and hopefully, he never will either,” Calum says flatly, opting to ignore the second half of the remark.</p>
<p>“Uh-huh, whatever you say.” Narrowing his eyes into a pensive frown, Michael purses his lips. “So, what’s the status between you two, anyway?”</p>
<p>Joining Michael by the table, Calum asks, “Status?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I mean, you’ve been fucking, like, fifty times a week for eleven years now, so… what’s the status?”</p>
<p>“It’s two times a week, tops, and it’s been three months,” Calum says with a snort. “There’s no status. We do what we do, nothing more to say.”</p>
<p>“And you’re both fine with that?”</p>
<p>“Why wouldn’t we be?”</p>
<p>“Because you’re roommates who are engaging in some pretty fucking intense sex on the regular?”</p>
<p>“Yeah?” Silent beat. “And?”</p>
<p>“<i>And</i> don’t you think it’s gonna become a problem sooner or later?” Michael asks while tapping his fingers impatiently against the table. “If he comes home one day and tells us he’s met someone that he wants to date, what’ll you do?”</p>
<p>“Wish him good luck?”</p>
<p>Michael bursts out laughing. “Yeah, right. It wouldn’t bother you at all? There’s no part of you that wants him all to yourself? Or that would be jealous if you had to listen to him fucking someone else through the wall?”</p>
<p>“I don’t…” Calum trails off with a roll of his eyes. </p>
<p>While he’s not about to admit it out loud, Michael has a point. He’d hate having to see or hear Ashton giving himself over to someone else, because somewhere along the line, at some point between all the fucking and the lazy mornings and the shared showers and the movie nights, Calum started thinking of Ashton as <i>his</i>. He has no problem admitting it to himself, he’s not afraid of his emotions, nor is he in denial about them, but the first time he admits to anything to a person that isn’t himself, it will be to Ashton himself, not to Michael or Luke or anyone else. It’s called respect and manners, he reckons.</p>
<p>“Thought so,” Michael says soberly.</p>
<p>“What’s the status with you and Luke, then?” Calum snaps. “Since you’re so hellbent on making sure <i>my</i> relationship is in order, I assume your own is all sorted out?”</p>
<p>Michael looks anything but impressed as he regards Calum. “I don’t know, but it’s not for a lack of trying,” he says. “We had that kiss on New Year’s Eve, but—”</p>
<p>“You call that a kiss?” Calum cuts in with a bark of laughter. “You were practically mauling each other up against the wall.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, it’s been radio silence on that front since then. He won’t talk about it. I’ve tried, but he… I don’t know.” Shrugging half-heartedly, Michael sighs. “We were starting to get somewhere back in October, but then he suddenly started pulling back and I have no idea why.”</p>
<p>“Then maybe it’s time you corner him and force him to talk,” Calum says. “At this rate, you won’t get your shit together until you’re both pensioners.”</p>
<p>“What if he’s just changed his mind, though? What if he’s decided he doesn’t want me?”</p>
<p>“Then it’ll be better for you to find out so you can work on getting over him.”</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah, that’ll be easy, considering we’re living together.”</p>
<p>Calum smiles crookedly. “Tell you what, if it turns out he doesn’t want you, you and I can get a place together, just the two of us. Leave Luke and Ash to do their own thing.”</p>
<p>“And leaving Ash wouldn’t bother you?”</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>“Gee, thanks, I appreciate you, too.”</p>
<p>Calum jumps at the sound of Ashton’s sour voice, turning around just in time to see Ashton enter the kitchen and head to the fridge. His face is drawn tight into a grimace ridden with so many emotions that Calum is unable to identify a single one of them, and he grabs himself a leftover pizza slice before he all but slams the fridge shut and stomps out. A few moments later, his bedroom door is being closed with a loud bang, and Calum sighs.</p>
<p>“Great,” he mutters as he rises to his feet. “I should probably…”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Michael says, clearing his throat. “Maybe do some actual talking, though, instead of trying to fuck the problem away.”</p>
<p>“Thanks for the advice,” Calum says, flipping Michael off before he leaves the kitchen in direction of Ashton’s bedroom. The door is, luckily, unlocked, and Calum doesn’t wait for permission to come in before he opens it and steps inside. Ashton’s sitting on his bed, his Mac in his lap, and his eyes are stormy when they connect with Calum’s.</p>
<p>“That sounded worse than it was,” he says, offering a small smile that Ashton doesn’t return.</p>
<p>“Whatever,” he says, eyes darting back to the Mac. “Fuck off, will you?”</p>
<p>“No,” Calum says as he closes the door behind himself and sits down on the edge of the bed, facing Ashton. “We were talking about him and Luke, okay? It had nothing to do with you. Or me, for that matter.”</p>
<p>Ashton swallows down a mouthful of pizza. “Then why was my name brought up?”</p>
<p>“Because I told him that he and I could get a place together if things with Luke goes to shit.”</p>
<p>“And then you said that leaving me behind would be totally fine with you,” Ashton says, huffing slightly. “Good to know where we stand.”</p>
<p>“I— that’s not how I meant it,” Calum says, dragging a hand across his face. “And I never said this thing we’ve got going on would end if we weren’t living together, if that’s what you’re thinking.”</p>
<p>Ashton blinks. “Oh,” he says. “I thought you… oh.”</p>
<p>“You thought I what?” When Ashton just makes a face in response, Calum slowly closes the Mac and puts it aside on the nightstand, waiting for Ashton to swallow down the last of his pizza before he moves to sit next to Ashton, then pats his lap.</p>
<p>Albeit a little reluctant by the looks of it, Ashton moves to straddle Calum, steadying himself with his hands curling around Calum’s shoulders. Pressing a quick kiss to Calum’s lips, he exhales slowly. </p>
<p>Calum waits patiently for a long while, but Ashton doesn’t seem to want to say anything. “Cat got your tongue?” he therefore asks with a curt laugh.</p>
<p>“No, I just… I don’t know what to say. Or, what you want me to say.”</p>
<p>“Just wanna know what’s going on inside your head,” Calum says as he lets his hands rest loosely on Ashton’s t-shirt-clad waist. Once again, Ashton remains silent, and Calum sighs. “So, what, you thought this was all an arrangement of convenience or something? That I was only interested because you’re always around and it requires minimal effort to find the time to fuck you? That I wouldn’t bother if I had to go out of my way to meet up with you?”</p>
<p>“Something like that. Maybe.”</p>
<p>“Hm, well, that’s not the case,” Calum says, bumping his nose gently against Ashton’s. “It’s a nice bonus and all, to have you easily accessible, but it’s not the main reason.”</p>
<p>“Easily accessible,” Ashton repeats, snorting. “How sweet does that sound?”</p>
<p>Calum grins before he captures Ashton’s lips in a slow, but insistent kiss. It takes approximately fifteen minutes before they’re both naked, Ashton on all fours while Calum fucks him at a hard, unrelenting pace. Though Calum is pulling at Ashton’s hair, forcing his head back, while using his other hand to keep a bruising hold on Ashton’s hip, he doesn’t have the energy to play around, too tuckered out from a long day at work combined with the heat. Ashton seems to be on the same wavelength, as he instead of begging for permission to come, simply warns Calum with a gasp of, “Coming, I’m coming.”</p>
<p>Afterwards, they simply lie next to each other, shoulders brushing, until Ashton declares them both disgusting and insists on taking a shower.</p>
<p>“Speak for yourself, I showered, like, an hour ago,” Calum says without opening his eyes.</p>
<p>“And now you’re just as gross as you were before that,” Ashton says. “Come on, I’ll wash your hair for you.”</p>
<p>“Make it a blowjob and you’ve got yourself a deal.”</p>
<p>“Like you could get it up again that fast,” Ashton says with a snigger.</p>
<p>Calum doesn’t bother fighting him, because he’s probably right. He does follow Ashton into the shower, though, and when they enter the living room a while later to find it empty, they order Chinese and spend the rest of the evening watching one rerun of <i>QI</i> after the other. They end up falling asleep on the couch, and when Calum wakes up sometime in the middle of the night with a crick in his neck and a softly snoring Ashton half on top of him, he takes a moment to brush a couple of stray curls away from Ashton’s forehead before he drifts off again.</p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-</p>
</div><p> </p>
<p>“Well, I’m not fine with it!”</p>
<p>“Why not?! It’s not like you’ve been going out of your way to—”</p>
<p>“That’s not the point, Michael!”</p>
<p>“Of course it is, you fucking dickhead! You can’t just go around and refuse to have a conversation about us and then—”</p>
<p>“There is no us!”</p>
<p>“Exactly! There is no us, so what the fuck makes you think you get a say in whether or not I date someone else?!”</p>
<p>It’s barely eight in the morning on a goddamned Sunday, and to be woken up by the sounds of Michael and Luke screaming at each other in the living room is anything but ideal. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty damn infuriating. Calum lets his presence be known by clearing his throat loudly, and they both whip around to stare at him from where they’re standing between the coffee table and the TV.</p>
<p>“Mind explaining what the fuck is the matter with you two?” he asks. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”</p>
<p>“Michael decided to let me know over breakfast that he’s going on a date tonight,” Luke spits.</p>
<p>Calum smacks his lips. “Okay, and?”</p>
<p>“And I’m not fine with that,” Luke says.</p>
<p>“That sounds like a you-problem, and not one you should be taking out on anyone else,” Calum says, and Luke’s jaw drops in apparent incredulousness. “Jesus fucking Christ, you two suck. And by ‘you two’, I mostly mean you, Luke. Grow the fuck up and figure out what the hell it is you want from Michael, because you’re pretty much just jerking him around and it’s not cool.”</p>
<p>Luke stands there for several heavy moments, staring at Calum with wide eyes and his mouth still hanging open, before he stomps into his bedroom and slams the door. </p>
<p>“You shouldn’t have gotten involved,” Michael mutters as he slumps down on the couch.</p>
<p>Sitting down next to Michael and rubbing his eyes, Calum says, “Kinda hard not to when you’re both yelling at the top of your lungs in the apartment we all share. Let him cool off a little, then go have a proper talk with him, yeah? Don’t lash out, don’t start raising your voice, don’t let him run off, just… deal with it. I know it’s he who’s the problem here, not you, but I think you’re gonna have to be the one to fix it, anyway.”</p>
<p>“Yeah.”</p>
<p>Ashton comes padding out from his bathroom just then, freshly showered, but bleary-eyed and equal parts annoyed and confused by the looks of it. He sits down between Michael and Calum, then asks, “Why the fuck were you screaming bloody murder out here at fuck o’clock in the morning?”</p>
<p>“Luke’s emotionally constipated and Michael has a date tonight,” Calum says.</p>
<p>Ashton scratches the back of his neck, making a face. “Recipe for disaster right there.”</p>
<p>“Fuck both of you,” Michael says as he gets up with a grunt and leaves them in favour of the kitchen.</p>
<p>“Do you think he’ll actually go on that date?” Ashton asks once Michael’s out of earshot.</p>
<p>“Maybe, if he and Luke don’t talk before then,” Calum says. “Knowing Michael he’ll probably end up taking his date back here and fuck him loudly just to get back at Luke, too.”</p>
<p>“Great”</p>
<p>“Not much we can do about it, short of locking them in a room together until they talk,” Calum says as he slides into a horizontal position and puts his head in Ashton’s lap. “What are you doing today?”</p>
<p>“Not much,” Ashton says as he starts playing mindlessly with Calum’s hair. “I was thinking maybe… do you wanna do something?”</p>
<p>“Sure, what were you thinking?”</p>
<p>“Dunno. Go see a movie? Or go to dinner?”</p>
<p>Calum turns his head to look up at Ashton, raising an eyebrow. “Just the two of us?”</p>
<p>“Yeah?”</p>
<p>“That sounds like a date,” Calum says, chuckling a little. Ashton looks down at him, not saying a word, and his cheeks appear a little pinker than usual. “I— shit, you actually meant… oh.”</p>
<p>“Oh, fuck you, nevermind,” Ashton mutters, promptly shoving Calum off of him before he stands up and marches into his bedroom.</p>
<p>Calum stares up at the ceiling, and it takes his brain approximately three seconds to kick back into gear. It takes another three seconds before he’s mentally kicking himself. Staggering to his feet, he follows in Ashton’s footsteps, and knocks once before opening the door. Ashton’s standing by his closet, seemingly in search of something to wear, and though his face is out of sight, his shoulders are visibly tense.</p>
<p>“This thing where everyone in this household tries to solve their problems by stomping away and slamming doors needs to stop,” Calum says as he sits down on Ashton’s bed.</p>
<p>“I was running away from my problems, not trying to solve them,” Ashton says curtly. He shuts his closet door and turns around. “Do you mind?” he asks, holding up the fresh change of clothes in his hand to illustrate.</p>
<p>“What, you’ve suddenly decided to be shy?” Calum asks.</p>
<p>“Yes, so please fuck off so I can get changed.”</p>
<p>Calum groans. “Jesus Christ, Ash, really? You caught me by surprise, that’s all. I didn’t say no.”</p>
<p>“You didn’t say yes either,” Ashton says. “You laughed at me, actually.”</p>
<p>“Because I was <i>surprised</i>,” Calum says. “Not because I was mocking you or whatever.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter,” Ashton says as he sits down next to Calum. “I just thought I’d ask, figured maybe we could try for something more, but whatever. Wanna fuck?”</p>
<p>Laughing, Calum shakes his head as he lies down, pulling Ashton with him. “We <i>can</i> try for something more, if that’s what you want,” he says. “It’s not like I haven’t thought about it.”</p>
<p>“Yeah?” Ashton asks, rubbing his nose into Calum’s t-shirt.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Calum confirms. “Kinda hard not to start thinking about it and… catching some feelings, I guess, after months of fucking, you know? And I do like you a lot, and not just for sex-purposes.”</p>
<p>“Sex-purposes,” Ashton giggles, and Calum pokes his waist. “So… you will go on a date with me, then?”</p>
<p>“Mhm. Does it have to be today, though?”</p>
<p>“What’s wrong with today?”</p>
<p>“It’s Sunday, and I have to be up early tomorrow. If I’m taking you on a—”</p>
<p>“Hey, hey, hey,” Ashton interrupts loudly. “<i>I</i> asked <i>you</i> out, which means <i>I’m</i> the one who’s taking <i>you</i> on a date, not the other way around. You can dominate me all you want in bed, but that’s where it ends.”</p>
<p>“Oh, it does, huh?” Calum asks, and before Ashton can get another word, Calum has him pinned underneath him. “I seem to recall a few instances in the kitchen. And the living room. And the shower. And my car that one time I picked you up from work.”</p>
<p>Ashton bites his lip, eyes glazing over a little as he looks up at Calum. “Fine. Dominate me all you want for <i>sex-purposes</i>, then. A date isn’t necessarily sex-related.”</p>
<p>“It could be, though,” Calum says, smirking. “Depends on whether or not you’ll put out on the first date.”</p>
<p>Winding his arms around Calum’s neck, Ashton hitches his legs up to wrap loosely around Calum’s back. “I might, we’ll see.”</p>
<p>“Alright, we’ll see,” Calum murmurs, pressing a soft kiss to the side of Ashton’s neck.</p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-</p>
</div><p> </p>
<p>It’s not until Saturday two weeks later that they finally get around to actually go on their date, by which time Michael and Luke seem to have made up. Though they both refuse to share any details, Michael looks weirdly smug every time the topic is brought up, while Luke keeps smiling for absolutely no reason. It might have been irritating if Calum wasn’t too focused on Ashton. In the two weeks that pass between them agreeing to go on a date and the actual date, they don’t go about their lives much different to how they have over the last few months; they work, they have dinner together on the couch, usually accompanied by Michael and Luke, and they fuck a handful of times. </p>
<p>There are a couple of small differences, however, that Calum can’t help but take notice of. He finds himself gravitating closer to Ashton in any and all situations, for one, whether they’re cooking together, hanging out on the couch, or just passing each other in the hallway. Ashton seems to be in a similar predicament as he keeps touching Calum for no apparent reason, just small touches in completely innocent situations that always end with their eyes meeting and Calum smiling.</p>
<p>He likes those little touches, likes the closeness. It feels intimate in a decidedly different way than fucking Ashton into next week does. Not lesser, nor more, just different.</p>
<p>On Saturday morning, they agree that a good old classic dinner date is the way to go. They spend a solid half hour in the kitchen, arguing over what kind of food to get, though, because while Calum could go for some sushi, Ashton finds the idea entirely unromantic.</p>
<p>“I don’t want you to taste like a fucking aquarium later on, do I?” Ashton asks, throwing his hands in the air.</p>
<p>Calum raises his eyebrows. “I don’t think the seafood-taste translates to my dick, Ash.”</p>
<p>Ashton’s jaw drops. “I didn’t— oh, fuck you. I meant your lips, not your dick.”</p>
<p>“I’ll brush my teeth as soon as we’ve eaten, how’s that?” Calum asks.</p>
<p>That drags a laugh out of Ashton, and he perches his palms on the counter, leaning back against it. “You’re gonna bring your toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste on a date?” he asks.</p>
<p>“If the thought of kissing me while I taste like sushi bothers you that much, then yes, I will.”</p>
<p>“Well, it doesn’t matter, because I don’t want sushi, anyway.”</p>
<p>Calum pinches the bridge between his eyebrows and sighs heavily. “Fine, Ash, what do you wanna eat, then?”</p>
<p>“Asian. Fried noodles or something.”</p>
<p>“You— oh my fucking God,” Calum says, staring at Ashton. “You do realise that a ton of sushi places serve those types of dishes, too, right? Including my favourite sushi place, I might add.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Ashton purses his lips pensively, then shrugs. “Guess that’s where we’re going, then. Don’t forget that toothbrush.”</p>
<p>It’s not that Calum is nervous, exactly, at least not for the same reasons that he tends to be nervous before a first date. Normally, he’s nervous because of the looming danger of awkward silences, stilted conversation, colliding expectations and differences in opinion of how the date went at the end of the night. In regards to the latter, he’s not sure what he thinks is worse — having to let his date down when they express wanting to see him again, or having his date let <i>him</i> down when <i>he</i> asks to see said date again. Both are equally mortifying, he reckons. </p>
<p>None of that is what’s making him slightly jittery with nerves as he gets ready for his date with Ashton, though. No, it’s the fear of saying or doing something that will fuck up not only their relationship — if it can be called that —, but also their friendship and their roommate dynamics, and by doing so, accidentally dragging Michael and Luke down with them when they fall. The last thing he does before he exits his bedroom is to give himself a stern glare in the mirror and tell himself to get a grip. </p>
<p>It helps, at least to a small extent, but what helps more is that Ashton is all bright eyes and wide smiles and animated talk as they make the short walk from the apartment to the restaurant. Either Ashton isn’t nervous at all, or he’s doing a fine job of hiding it, and the result is that by the time they’re halfway through their meal, Calum can barely remember why he was nervous in the first place.</p>
<p>“You know,” Ashton says through a mouthful of spring roll; it really shouldn’t be as endearing as it is. “I tried sushi for the first time after I moved in with you guys.”</p>
<p>“What? You were in your early twenties at that point,” Calum says. “How did you go more than twenty years without trying sushi?”</p>
<p>“Why would I want to?” Ashton laughs. “I was told it was rice and raw fish, so I was kinda picturing, like, regular white rice with a salmon filet or something smacked on top.”</p>
<p>Calum grins and shakes his head, slightly incredulous. “You’re joking, right? You had to have seen pictures of sushi at some point in your life before then?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, and what I saw was rice and fish wrapped in something black,” Ashton says, wrinkling his nose. “It didn’t exactly look appetizing, did it? And then I was told there was avocado involved as well and you know I don’t like—”</p>
<p>“You didn’t have to have avocado on it,” Calum cuts in, and he’s laughing now, both at Ashton’s words and at the genuinely disgusted look on his face.</p>
<p>“Well, how was I supposed to know?” Ashton snaps, but his lips are twitching, as if he’s fighting to keep a smile at bay. “For all I knew, avocado was to sushi what cheese is to hamburgers.”</p>
<p>“Cheese isn’t a key ingredient to hamburgers, though,” Calum says. “You can have hamburgers without cheese.”</p>
<p>“No, absolutely not,” Ashton says with a firm shake of his head. “Sounds dreadful, I refuse to accept it.”</p>
<p>“Okay, princess,” Calum snorts.</p>
<p>Ashton blinks, tilting his head to the side as he pulls his bottom lip in between his teeth for a moment. “I like that,” he says.</p>
<p>“What? Being called ‘princess’?” Calum asks, smiling crookedly when Ashton nods. “Good to know. I’ll keep it in mind later.”</p>
<p>“Or you can keep it in mind in general,” Ashton suggests. “Not all pet names have to be sexual. They can be used for other purposes, too. Like, romance or to show affection. I’m not opposed to that.”</p>
<p>It’s so easy to forget that they are, in fact, on a date, and not just out to dinner as friends or as friends with benefits, that Calum has to take a moment to digest Ashton’s words. There’s no real difference between this dinner and any other scenario in which they’ve spent time together with their clothes on in the last few months, but when they walk back home about an hour later, their hands brushing occasionally, Calum thinks to himself that maybe that’s a good thing. His stomach flutters with warmth for every smile Ashton gives him, though, and every laugh he gives or gets is accompanied by a skip in his heartbeat.</p>
<p>Maybe that’s the whole point, he thinks when he unlocks the front door and lets Ashton in first. Maybe what they’ve already had for several months only needed a small tweak in the shape of an official date to become what they both seem to want. The thought makes Calum smile at nothing in particular, and as soon as he’s closed and locked the door behind them, he wraps his arms around Ashton from behind and pulls him in for a quick embrace that he punctuates with a kiss to the back of Ashton’s neck before he pulls back.</p>
<p>“What was that for?” Ashton asks, a faint smile pulling at his lips.</p>
<p>“Nothing in particular, just felt like it,” Calum says honestly.</p>
<p>Leaving their shoes in the entrance hall, Ashton leads the way further into the apartment. He draws to a halt outside his bedroom, opening the door, and raises a quizzical eyebrow at Calum, who grins and gives Ashton a gentle shove to get him moving. The door is barely closed before Calum spins Ashton around and picks him up by the back of his thighs. He ignores Ashton’s laughing protests, laying him down on the bed before he crawls on top, getting situated between Ashton’s spread legs. Using one hand to keep himself propped up, Calum cups Ashton’s jaw with the other.</p>
<p>“Hey,” he says.</p>
<p>Ashton’s eyes are glittering with what looks like part happiness, part wonder when he responds with a slightly dazed, “Hi.”</p>
<p>“Is this okay?”</p>
<p>“What, you being on top of me?” Ashton asks. “As a general rule, the answer to that question is always yes.”</p>
<p>“Gotta make sure, don’t I?” Calum asks rhetorically.</p>
<p>Ashton giggles a little. “We’ve been fucking for months; you thought I’d stop putting out <i>now?</i>”</p>
<p>Leaning down, Calum presses his lips to Ashton’s in a soft kiss. “Never said I was planning on fucking you, did I?”</p>
<p>“No, that was me assuming crazy things after you threw me down on the bed and laid down on top of me. Sorry for being presumptuous, it won’t happen again.” </p>
<p>Calum laughs and kisses Ashton again. “So, good date?” he asks when he breaks away.</p>
<p>Ashton beams. “The best.”</p>
<p>Kissing Ashton’s cheek, then his jaw, then his neck, Calum hums. “We’re doing it again sometime, then?”</p>
<p>“Mhm,” Ashton says around a slightly unsteady breath as he tilts his head to the side to give Calum better access to his neck, his hips shifting subtly under Calum’s weight.</p>
<p>Calum closes his teeth around Ashton’s pulsepoint and sucks in the delicate skin, just hard enough to make sure it’ll leave a mark. “Maybe we ought to go to the movies next time, yeah?”</p>
<p>Ashton sighs shakily, mumbling, “Why’s that?”</p>
<p>“We could grab two seats in the back for a movie that no one else wants to see, so we’d have some privacy.” Licking a long stripe along Ashton’s neck, Calum smiles when he hears the whimper that tears itself from Ashton’s throat. “You’d like that, huh? Would you like it if I made you get on your knees in front of me, made you choke on my dick while not being allowed to touch yourself properly, only through your clothes?”</p>
<p>Ashton moans quietly, raising his legs to wrap around Calum’s waist, his heels pressing down against the small of Calum’s back. “Cal…”</p>
<p>“Seems like baby’s a bit of an exhibitionist,” Calum says softly as he wraps his fingers gently around Ashton’s throat. “Everyone would know how easy you are the moment we walked out of the theatre, but you’d enjoy that, wouldn’t you?” He adds a bit of pressure to his hold, relishing in the strangled noise Ashton lets out. “You’d just love to walk out of there with your lips all messed up from sucking my dick, and your pants stained from having made yourself come in them, or what?”</p>
<p>“Cal…”</p>
<p>“Be a good boy and answer the question.”</p>
<p>Ashton hiccups, then nods once, his chin knocking gently against the side of Calum’s head. “Yeah, I’d— I’d love it.”</p>
<p>“Figures,” Calum chuckles. Sitting up between Ashton’s spread legs, but keeping his grip on Ashton’s throat, he uses his free hand to unbutton and pull Ashton’s jeans and underwear down, just far enough that his cock springs free. It’s already at full hardness, and Calum chuckles again. “So fucking easy for it, aren’t you? A few well-chosen words and restricted air supply and you’re ready to give it up to anyone who asks.”</p>
<p>“No, just— just you,” Ashton rasps.</p>
<p>“It’s not nice to lie, is it?” Calum asks as he thumbs over the metal ring in Ashton’s dick. “You know what I think would be fun? If you did all the work.”</p>
<p>Ashton blinks, eyes a little blank. “What— what do you mean?”</p>
<p>“You’re stupid now, in addition to being a slut?”</p>
<p>Ashton blushes and he diverts his gaze, but doesn’t say anything.</p>
<p>Rolling his eyes, Calum frees himself from the grip of Ashton’s legs, then stands up and drops his jeans to the floor along with his boxers. “Get naked,” he starts as he pulls his t-shirt over his head, “prep yourself and when you’re ready, you’re gonna ride me until you come without touching your cock. Understood?”</p>
<p>“I— yeah,” Ashton says, nodding furiously as he scrambles to get his clothes off and grab the lube from the nightstand.</p>
<p>Watching Ashton finger himself into a state of increasing despair is a sight to behold. Calum simply sits on the edge of the bed, one foot planted on the floor with his other leg bent on top of the mattress, and watches the show while stroking himself lazily. He knows that Ashton enjoys being looked at, that he gets off on it, and Calum gets off on knowing that part of the reason Ashton gets off on it is that he finds the whole scenario vaguely humiliating. When Ashton has been working three fingers in and out of himself for a while, Calum gets up and walks around the bed, grabbing a condom from the nightstand before he sits down with his back resting against the headboard.</p>
<p>As soon as Calum has rolled the condom on himself, Ashton crawls on top of him and doesn’t hesitate for as much as a second before he sinks down onto Calum’s dick. His face is scrunching up, no doubt at the pain of having taken too much, too quickly, and he steadies himself with his hands planted behind himself on Calum’s thighs. Ashton keeps his eyes closed as he starts to move, slow at first to let his body get used to the stretch, then a little faster. </p>
<p>Once he’s confident that Ashton is no longer in any sort of pain, Calum reaches out a hand and drags his thumb over the pierced head of Ashton’s dick, the metal a little wet with precum. Ashton keens low in his throat at the touch, and starts moving his hips a little faster, his head tipped back, eyes closed, mouth dropped slightly open. </p>
<p>“Look at you,” Calum says, giving the ring a sharp pull that makes Ashton’s rhythm falter for a split second. “So easy for it, so selfish. You wouldn’t give a flying fuck about whether or not <i>I’m</i> having a good time, as long as <i>you</i> get what you want, huh?”</p>
<p>“No, I need— I want you to—” Ashton’s words are drowned by a broken moan when he shifts his hips a little and Calum’s dick brushes over his prostate. Slumping forward, he braces himself with his hands on Calum’s chest as he starts riding him in earnest, head dipped low, his eyes still closed, desperate little moans falling out of him every time he slams back down, filling himself up.</p>
<p>“You want me to what?” Calum demands. He gives Ashton’s piercing a final pull before he grabs a hold of his hair instead, yanking his head back. “You won’t even look at me, you slut. You don’t care at all whose dick it is you’re bouncing on, it could might as well be a stranger’s, couldn’t it? Or a fucking toy. As long as you get to fuck yourself on something, isn’t that right?”</p>
<p>Clenching around Calum’s dick, Ashton opens his eyes and shakes his head frantically. “No, I— I want you,” he pants, his eyes wet and wild when they connect with Calum’s. “Nothing— no one else is as good, nev—never have been. Just you. You’re so— fuck, Cal, I can’t— I need you to—”</p>
<p>Calum coos as he tightens his hold on Ashton’s hair. “Can’t get yourself there, huh? Can’t even fuck <i>yourself</i> as good as I can fuck you?”</p>
<p>Ashton doesn’t answer, just moans again, his abdominal muscles clenching visibly. His nails are digging into Calum’s pecs, droplets of sweat are gathering on his forehead and his eyes are getting wetter and wetter as he desperately works himself on Calum’s dick. He wants to come, Calum can see it on his face, in the way his body’s moving, and he also wants to obey Calum’s command by getting himself there without any help.</p>
<p>Judging by the frustrated sob that tears from his throat, Calum doesn’t think it’s going to happen, though. Not today, at least.</p>
<p>“You can’t do it, can you, princess?” he asks.</p>
<p>Ashton shakes his head and bites down on his already swollen bottom lip. “No, I need— you have to—”</p>
<p>“Oh, I <i>have to</i>, do I?” Calum taunts, tugging as hard as he dares at Ashton’s increasingly damp curls. “Since when is it my job to make sure you come? I could come just like this and then leave you to take care of yourself, couldn’t I, if that’s what I feel like doing? Your only job was to make yourself come, it’s not really my problem if you’re unable to do it, is it?”</p>
<p>Ashton’s jaw trembles, and he sniffles soundly. “Cal…”</p>
<p>Releasing his hold on Ashton’s hair, Calum lowers his hand and gives one, two, three swift smacks to Ashton’s ass. “Answer me.”</p>
<p>Ashton clenches around Calum’s dick again, and he’s shaking from head to toe now, so close to coming undone, but unable to get himself there. “Please, Cal, I— please.”</p>
<p>Calum purses his lips for a moment, raising a hand to cradle Ashton’s face. “Colour?”</p>
<p>Leaning into the touch, Ashton squeezes his eyes shut and heaves a deep breath, but he doesn’t stop moving up and down on Calum’s dick. “I— green, I— no, I don’t—” He cuts himself off and swallows thickly. “Yellow, maybe. Don’t— don’t make me— I can’t make myself come, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I can’t— please, Cal, please…”</p>
<p>“It’s okay, it’s okay, calm down, stop moving,” Calum says, keeping one hand on Ashton’s face and using the other one to stroke carefully up and down his back. He waits until Ashton has stilled before he speaks again. “Are you okay? Do you wanna stop? Want me to suck you off instead?”</p>
<p>“No,” Ashton mumbles immediately with a shake of his head. “Just… new position, please. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, I—”</p>
<p>In one fluid motion, Calum flips them over and throws Ashton’s leg over his shoulder before he starts fucking into him with sharp snaps of his hips. “This better?” he asks, and Ashton nods frantically. “Colour?”</p>
<p>“Green, green,” Ashton groans, fisting the sheets underneath himself.</p>
<p>Pleased, Calum bites down at the inside of Ashton’s thigh. “You know,” he says, a little out of breath, “as easy as it is for you to give it up and as eager as you always are to get a dick up your ass, I’d think you were good enough at this to at least make yourself come when I give you permission to use me however you see fit.”</p>
<p>“Sorry, I—I’m sorry,” Ashton gasps, head thrown back to expose his throat. “Can’t— I can’t do it like you— <i>fuck!</i> Like you can.”</p>
<p>Calum rolls his eyes. “You just wanna be taken care of, don’t you?” Ashton’s breath catches in his throat, puncturing a low whine, and Calum closes his fingers loosely around his throat. “Answer me, Ash. With words.”</p>
<p>“<i>Yes</i>, okay?” Ashton cries. “I want— I wanna be taken care of!”</p>
<p>“I know,” Calum says with a snort, sliding his hand down Ashton’s chest and twisting the ring in his left nipple a little, just enough to make Ashton cry out again. “That’s why you always want me to do all the work, isn’t it? So you can just lie there or stand on all fours while I make you feel good? Is that why you wanted to go on a date with me, too? Or was that just because you wanted to feel a little less worthless for one night? To pretend for a little while that you’re good for more than being used as a toy?”</p>
<p>The words punch an almost shockingly immediate reaction out of Ashton. With Calum still twisting his nipple, he starts tensing up, inch by inch, his back arching off the bed, and before Calum can even blink, Ashton is coming all over his own stomach and chest, whimpering and moaning as he works himself back against Calum’s thrusts. The sight is so unexpected that Calum is barely able to hold back until Ashton has come down before he falls over the edge himself, slumping forwards to bury his face in Ashton’s sweaty neck.</p>
<p>He doesn’t know how long it’s been by the time he regains the ability to speak. Or move. “Jesus,” he mumbles, his lips dragging against Ashton’s throat. “You alright?”</p>
<p>“Mhm,” Ashton hums dazedly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t… you know. Thought I could, but...”</p>
<p>Chuckling tiredly, Calum sits up and pulls out of Ashton, murmuring an apology when Ashton winces. He removes and ties the condom before he throws it in the trashcan next to the bed, then lies down on his back and waits for Ashton to cuddle up on his chest before he responds.</p>
<p>“It’s okay,” he says, kissing Ashton’s sweaty forehead.</p>
<p>Ashton snuffles. “I really like riding you, though. Just can’t finish like that without some help. Don’t know if I wanna… try again either. Was almost painful, and not in a good way.”</p>
<p>Wrapping his arms tightly around Ashton, Calum smiles a little. “We won’t try it again, then, don’t worry about it. No point in doing stuff we don’t both enjoy, yeah?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Ashton breathes. “Thanks. Sorry about—”</p>
<p>“Stop apologising, love,” Calum interrupts with a soft laugh. “You have nothing to apologise for, you did so well.”</p>
<p>“Hm. I came kinda… suddenly. Didn’t mean to do that.”</p>
<p>“It was hot. Don’t know if you noticed but it made me come, too.”</p>
<p>“I actually didn’t notice,” Ashton says, huffing out a laugh. “Was a little preoccupied trying not to… die, or something.”</p>
<p>Calum snorts. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t. Might have made things a little awkward. Death by sex.”</p>
<p>“If I’m gonna die young, that’s how I wanna go.”</p>
<p>“I’ll keep that in mind.”</p>
<p>“Thanks.” Stretching his limbs, Ashton curls back up on Calum’s chest and lets out a sigh of contentment. “So… I wanted to go on a date with you because I like you, by the way. Because I have feelings for you. Not because I have some self-depracating idea that I’m worthless or only good enough to be used for sex.”</p>
<p>A startled laugh tumbles over Calum’s lips. “I know, love. It was just dirty talk.”</p>
<p>Ashton shrugs a little. “Just figured I’d say it in case you were in doubt about my… motivations, or whatever.”</p>
<p>“I wasn’t, but thanks,” Calum says.</p>
<p>“Hm. Hey, do you think we’d have wound up here if I hadn’t gotten my piercings last summer? They were kinda what started this whole thing, right?”</p>
<p>“I guess,” Calum muses. “And… I mean, if something else happened that catalyzed it, then I don’t see why not. It’s not like my feelings for you live and die with your piercings.”</p>
<p>“Thanks,” Ashton says dryly. “But if nothing else catalyzed it either, we could essentially still just be roommates, then? Weird thought.”</p>
<p>“A little, yeah,” Calum says. “Let’s just agree that your piercings have been a blessing, then, yeah?”</p>
<p>“Because getting to fuck me on a regular basis is a blessing?” Ashton giggles. “You say the sweetest things.”</p>
<p>Calum rolls his eyes and gives Ashton’s waist a gentle poke. “I quite like the other parts, too, if you must know,” he says. “This, for example, is pretty nice. Dinner today was nice. Being lazy on the couch with you is nice. Cooking with you is nice. Being near you in general, actually, is nice.”</p>
<p>Ashton lifts his head, a sleepy smile adorning his face as he looks into Calum’s eyes. “I quite like those parts, too,” he says, stretching his neck to press a dry kiss to Calum’s lips. “I’d like to keep doing all of it, if you wouldn’t mind.”</p>
<p>Feigning a pensive frown, Calum shrugs. “Not too much, I guess.”</p>
<p>Ashton opens his mouth to respond, but before he gets a single word out, there’s a sharp rap on the door. “Luke and I started fucking yesterday, just so you know!” Michael’s voice shouts. “And we can get loud, too, so four can play at this game!”</p>
<p>Making a face at the door, Calum looks down at Ashton, who looks more tired than anything else.</p>
<p>“This ought to get interesting,” Ashton mutters before he hides his face in Calum’s chest.</p>
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